My Scars Are Yours Today

“There wasn’t any need to. She was making me stronger, giving me a purpose here,” Ivy muttered looked down at her lap.

“Ivy, she was hurting you. That’s why you were put on the tablets the first time, a normal kid shouldn’t have been doing the stuff that you were doing. Surely without her you wouldn’t have gone out that night the Joker got you,” Bruce had walked over to her and turned her face to his with his fingers beneath her chin. Ivy refused to meet his eyes though and looked just past his head; she didn’t want to believe any of this.

“I wasn’t doing normal things? What about you? You fly around beating the shit out of people whilst dressed as a giant bat… where is the normal in that sentence?” Ivy questioned in disbelief causing Bruce to sigh heavily and take a step back. Her mind was tainted now that she couldn’t get the giant Bat and the Clown from her head. How was she supposed to trust Bruce now that she knew his secret? At least the Joker had been straight with her.

The loud angry yells were what had drawn Ivy to Bruce’s office door the next morning. She looked through the gap of the door and saw how her uncle sat at his desk with a phone to his ear. Saying Bruce looked distressed would have been an understatement as he continuously ran his hand through his dishevelled hair.

“Look I know it’s important but-”

“You’re just not getting this, it’s her birthday! I want her to at least have one special day after all the shit that she’s been through,” Ivy left her position at the door and continued her way down the stairs wondering vaguely whom had been talking about her to Bruce.

“Happy birthday, Ivy,” Alfred greeted as soon as the seventeen year old had entered the kitchen.

“Morning Alfred,” Ivy sat down at the breakfast bar and looked out of the window to see the sun shining down on the garden.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“No thank you. Can I have some orange juice though?”

“Of course,” The kitchen door opened and Bruce stepped in, looking at Ivy with a small smile.

“Happy birthday, sweet heart,” He kissed her cheek and then quickly retrieved her pills from the cupboard and placed two on the counter in front of her. She looked down at them with the blank mind that Jinx had once filled before taking both of the yellow pills in her hand and swallowing them dry.

“I know you didn’t want anything big but I got you a present anyway,” Bruce said as he walked into the attached room and then returned with a large cardboard box in his arms. He placed it in front of her, careful not to knock her glass of juice over. Ivy looked a little apprehensive but finally opened the top of the box and peered inside. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the small Alsation puppy staring back at her. She turned back to her uncle with a smile on her face that both shocked and pleased Alfred and Bruce.

“Thank you so much,” She uttered and hugged Bruce whom had an accomplished smile on his face.

“What are you going to call him?” Ivy stiffened slightly.

-

“Happy!” Immediately the door was opened and a guy with short blonde hair appeared. “Make my guest more comfortable for me whilst I go and get her her gift,” Ivy watched as the Joker left the room and Happy stepped in fully.

“So, are you going to communicate with me or do I have to use force?” She stepped forward
with her head bowed low causing Happy to smile gently. “Thank you.”

“What’s your real name?” Ivy uttered as a chair was dragged over for her to sit on.

“Happy, it‘s what I‘m known as now,” The way he bound the rope around her was like he was being careful.

“You know, you remind me of someone I used to know,” He mused whilst binding her legs. Ivy stayed silent and just watched the boy whom looked not a day over twenty. She wondered what kind of life he had before he had run into the Joker and then another thought hit her; how long would it take for the Joker to kill him off?

-

“Happy,” Ivy stated and never noticed the worried look that Bruce and Alfred shared.

“So who was on the phone this morning about me?” She asked with a small smile as she pulled Happy from the box. She giggled slightly as the puppy squirmed in her arms. Her personality had altered so much.

“Commissioner Gordon, he wants to talk to you about everything that has happened down at the station. We have to be there for one o‘clock,” Ivy’s smile immediately dropped.

“Do I have to go? I don’t want to talk about what happened with some random guy,” She muttered and stared down at Happy.

“If it makes any difference, I’ll be there.”

“As Batman though, not my uncle,” Ivy made sure that Happy was securely in her arms as she stood, “I’ll be in my room.”